If workers are subjected to very loud noises in short durations or loud noises over a long duration, their hearing can be temporarily or permanently damaged — possibly resulting in hearing loss. In this article, we’ll explore how OSHA’s Occupational Noise Exposure standards can keep workers safe from loud noises through engineering and administrative controls as well as personal protective equipment.
Implementing a Hearing Conservation Program
OSHA’s permissible exposure limit is 90 decibels averaged over an eight-hour day. For every five decibels of noise increases, the amount of time a person can be exposed to it is cut in half. For instance, eight hours of exposure is permissible at 90 decibels — but at 95 decibels, only four hours of exposure is permissible, and two hours at 100 decibels.
If noise on the jobsite exceeds 85 decibels averaged over eight working hours, OSHA requires employers to implement a hearing conservation program. The goal of this program is to prevent occupational hearing loss by…
Measuring hazardous noise: Noise levels must be monitored to identify areas where exposure exceeds permissible limits;
Communicating hazards to workers: Employers must inform workers about hazardous noise exposure and provide access to noise monitoring results;
Mitigating noise through controls: Employers must use engineering and administrative controls to reduce noise to permissible levels wherever feasible, as we’ll cover next;
Providing hearing protective devices (HPDs): If noise cannot be adequately reduced through controls, HPDs (like earplugs or earmuffs) must be provided and used.
Noise Controls & Hearing Protective Devices
Before hazardous noise can be addressed, it needs to be identified. To that end, OSHA requires employers to monitor noise levels to determine whether workers are exposed to sound beyond the permissible limit. While taking measurements, it’s important to account for variations in noise levels based on shifts as well as worker movements and duties — and to reassess noise whenever equipment, processes, or layouts change.
As for the first line of defense, employers should try to reduce noise exposure to a safer level through engineering or administrative controls — that is, through physically making changes to the workplace or to how work is conducted. For instance…
Engineering controls include the use of low-noise tools and machinery, well-maintained and well-lubricated equipment and machinery, the placement of barriers between noise sources and employees (such as sound walls or sound curtains), and the enclosure or isolation of noise sources.
Administrative controls include operating loud machines during shifts with fewer staff present, limiting how long a worker spends near a noise source, creating “quiet areas” where workers can get a break from the noise and recover, and restricting how close workers can get to noise sources.
Where engineering and administrative controls fail to bring noise levels within safe levels, HPDs (such as earplugs or earmuffs) must be available for all employees. As with all personal protective equipment, employers must ensure that HPDs are well-maintained and train workers on the importance of using them — as well as the risks posed by using them improperly or not at all.
